When University of Missouri football star Michael Sam said the You Can Play project played a role in his decision to announce he is gay, it brought the national spotlight to a Denver-based initiative that has spent two years fighting for "fairness in the locker room."

2. HIGH TIMES VS. COLORADO

The publisher of marijuana magazine High Times has sued the state of Colorado in federal court over the state's rules preventing recreational cannabis businesses from advertising in most publications. Here's why the magazine says the rules are unconstitutional.

It's a dangerous time in Colorado's backcountry. "We're seeing avalanche runs larger than we've seen in the last 20 years," Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecaster Spencer Logan said. In one case, crews dropped explosives from a helicopter to help mitigate the danger.

A bull elk, right, bugles to a female elk during mating rituals. The elk mating season draws hundreds of tourists to Rocky Mountain National Park every fall, hoping for a glimpse of the sometimes spectacular elk battles. (Associated Press file)

Big game hunting ultimately isn't all that different from other sports. Win or lose, eventually the season comes to an end. Then what? For the vast majority, it's back to the drawing board. So why not do some elk scouting on a Colorado elk hunter's new website.

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 12: Arielle Gold of the United States is given assistance after crashing in the Snowboard Women's Halfpipe Qualification Heats on day five of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on February 12, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Getty Images Europe | Mike Ehrmann)

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.